The Black Society for Salvation ( sq, Shoqëria e zezë për shpëtim)
was a secret
Albanian nationalist society established in 1909.
Its main task was to organize uprisings in southern
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and
Macedonia struggling for the unification of the four
Ottoman vilayets with the substantial
Albanian population (
Kosovo Vilayet,
Scutari Vilayet,
Monastir Vilayet and
Janina Vilayet) into one autonomous political unit with its own government and parliament. The members of the society considered the armed rebellions as legitimate means for achieving their aims.
History
According to Nebi Dervishi, the society somehow dates back to 1878 in
Istanbul
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, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
. Dervishi explained that its
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
contains a gun and
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
, with the name of the society on top, and number 18 and 78 (left and right), showing a connection with the
League of Prizren
The League of Prizren ( sq, Besëlidhja e Prizrenit), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation ( sq, Lidhja për mbrojtjen e të drejtave te kombit Shqiptar), was an Albanian political organization which was offi ...
period. The society got reorganized and got its real structure in 1909 in
Monastir (today's Bitola in North Macedonia), in the same building which hosted the
Alphabet Congress. Monastir was a cradle of
irredentist
Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent st ...
movements, not only Albanian ones. The main contributor was
Themistokli Gërmenji. The later, had several trips to visit the Albanian colonies, and found great support especially in the colonies of
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
and
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
. Other main members of this were
Thoma Avrami,
Nikolla Ivanaj, and
Pandeli Cale. The statute of the society ( sq, Rregullore) was printed in a local print shop owned by the
Qiriazi (Kyrias) family, and had 47 articles. The society established branches throughout the vilayets, in
Korçë
Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...
,
Yannina
Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the ci ...
,
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and th ...
,
Vlorë
Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foo ...
,
Filat
FILAT (Forward-looking Infrared and Laser Attack Targeting) pod is an airborne targeting pod designed to provide aircraft with all weather / night attack capabilities. It was first revealed to the public at 1998 Zhuhai Air Show, and it is designed ...
,
Delvinë
Delvinë ( or , ); is a town and a municipality in Vlorë County, southern Albania, northeast of Saranda. It was formed in the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Delvinë and Vergo, which became municipal unit ...
,
Përmet
Përmet (; sq-definite, Permeti) is a city and municipality in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality of Përmet consists of the administrative units of Çarçovë, Frashër, Petran, Qendër Piskovë and Përmet. The total popul ...
,
Elbasan
Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...
,
Tiranë
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
,
Ohër,
Prespa
Prespa ( mk, Преспа, sq, Prespa, el, Πρέσπα) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Rese ...
,
Strugë,
Dibër,
Shkup,
Shkodër, as well as in diaspora. The branches used a similar seal, without the letter "Q" that was present in the Monastir's one for distincting the "headquarters" ( sq, Qendra). The intended name from the beginning was
"The Black Hand" ( sq, Dora e Zezë), in resonance with other secret societies that carried similar name in Europe, but was shifted later for avoiding misunderstandings regarding the society's programme and activity. A correspondence of
Fan Noli to one of the founders, Nikolla Ivanaj, shows Noli's disagreement with these naming convention which sounded to him like
the ''Mano Nera''. Despite the efforts of Ivanaj for changing the name to "National Organization of Albania" ( sq, Organizacionit Kombëtar të Shqipërisë), the name did not change due to objections from the branches.
The society had a secret character which conformed with that of the other secret societies throughout the world. Membership was allowed only to highly trusted persons. Only the initials were used instead of the real names. This makes its structure, membership, and activities more difficult to be study.
Albanian revolts in 1911 and 1912
The Albanian revolts in the period before the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
were organized mostly in the territory of the
Kosovo vilayet.
Isa Boletini
Isa Boletini (; 15 January 186423 or 24 January 1916) was an Albanian revolutionary commander and politician and rilindas from Kosovo.
As a young man, he joined the Albanian nationalist League of Prizren and participated in a battle against Ot ...
, one of the leaders of the Albanian insurgents in Kosovo vilayet, wrote a proclamation on March 23, 1911 to the Albanians in the south to join the Albanians from the
Kosovo vilayet in their uprising. He sent his emissaries on April 15, 1911 to pass his proclamation to the southern insurgents. One of the main tasks of Black Society for Salvation was to organize uprisings in the southern territories. The members of the society organized a meeting in
Kolonjë. The meeting was attended by the emissaries from the Kosovo vilayet who brought the proclamation of Isa Boletini. The leaders of the society decided in that meeting to organize groups of armed
rebels and to launch the
uprising
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
in the south in early June 1911. The society managed to establish committees in several towns including
Korçë
Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...
,
Elbasan
Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...
,
Debar
Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has ...
and
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
, but it failed to maintain control over them because each committee acted on its own direction.
During 1911 the Ottoman representatives managed to deal with the leaders of Albanian rebels separately, because they were not united and lacked central control. The Ottoman Empire first managed to pacify the northern Albanian malësorë (highlanders) from
Scutari Vilayet reaching a compromise during a meeting in
Podgorica
Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...
. In order to resolve the problems in the south, the Ottoman representatives invited Albanian southern leaders to a meeting on August 18, 1911. They promised to meet most of their demands, like general
amnesty
Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...
, the opening of Albanian language schools, and the restriction that military service was to be performed only in the territory of the vilayets with substantial Albanian population. Other demands included requiring administrative officers to learn the
Albanian language
Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...
, and that the possession of weapons would be permitted.
When the
Albanian revolt broke out in 1912 the Black Society for Salvation issued a proclamation to the Albanians from the south of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and the
Monastir inviting them to participate in the revolt.
First Balkan War
When the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
broke out, some members of the society met in
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Sk ...
on October 14, 1912, and composed the declaration which was delivered to the consuls of the
Great Powers on October 16. With this declaration they informed the Great Powers that Albanians were going to go against the
Balkan allies not to protect the Ottoman Empire, but to protect territorial integrity of the
Albanian vilayet.
They decided to send emissaries to ''malësorë'' in northern Albania, to organize the resistance in the whole region and to call for an Albanian national assembly. However, the fighting during the war prevented the emissaries from completing their tasks.
The Society's branch in Skopje also organized an unsuccessful assembly to declare the unification of the four vilayets on October 14, 1912.
Ismail Qemali
Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian perso ...
–who authored Albania's
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
a month and a half later–realized that the fate of Albania would be decided in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
See also
*
Albanian National Awakening
The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where the ...
*
Albanian Vilayet
*
Secret society
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Society for Salvation
Secret societies in Albania
Albanian revolutionary organizations